Legal bodies call for statutory protection for professional privilege following ruling against the security services 2

The Law Gazette reports that professional bodies representing lawyers and other legal professionals are calling for statutory protection for professional privilege.

It follows a landmark ruling by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) ordering the intelligence agency GCHQ to destroy illegally intercepted communications between Libyans subjected to renditions and their lawyers in the UK.

However, despite the ruling both the Law Society and the bar have said the ruling does not sufficiently protect lawyer-client communications. Andrew Caplen, president of the Law Society commenting on the current situation said:

‘The current legislative framework remains unsuitable and we hope that the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act will be amended or replaced to include explicit protection of legal professional privilege.’